Let me start by saying that nothing here is meant to denigrate BJJ or MMA in any way. As a rule, I do not criticize other systems. The BJJ guys I know are amazing martial artists and great athletes. My issue with the name Brazilian Jiujitsu (or Jiu-Jitsu) is a personal hangup, but bear me out here.

As a practitioner of jujutsu (the way we happen to spell the same word), when people hear what I do, they frequently assume I do something else. “Oh, you do that rolling around on the ground stuff right?” I get that all the time. Recently a fellow student of my teacher who has just started teaching complained about the same thing.

With the popularity of the UFC, and the BJJ domination of that sport, it is easy to understand that most people’s exposure to jujutsu has been nearly 100%. Koryu and gendai styles (like Ketsugo Jujutsu) are not generally used for sport and you don’t see them on TV very much.

The basic historical background of BJJ si that it is derived from Kodokan Judo. However, at that time, Judo was sometimes still referred to as Kano Jiu-Jitsu after Jigoro Kano, the father of Judo. It was 1914 when Mitsuyo Maeda brought Judo to Brazil, and it wasn’t until 1925 when the Japanese government declared that the art be called Judo. The Gracie family studied under Maeda in Brazil, and continued to refine and spread their art up to today.

So, there is indeed a historic reason, not that they need one, to call their art Jiu-Jitsu.

For us, ground fighting is not something we choose to do. It usually means you are about to lose your life. So, to be confused with a system that has become synonymous with ground-fighting sometimes takes us back a bit. We practice ground-fighting, but not for sport, and we use tactics which would be illegal in any sport competition (unless you believe the movie Bloodsport was a true story).

So, my personal wish was that Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu was called Brazilian Judo, or something different. I’m lazy and I’d have less explaining to do. In the end, labels are just that. After all, the name “Ketsugo Jujutsu” (also spelled jujitsu) was created by an American in the 20th century, and it is an eclectic art.

Someone once asked my sensei what he would do if Royce Gracie attacked him and tried to take him down. My sensei’s answer, “I dunno, probably pull out my knife and stick him.” The questioner was awestruck at the answer. My sensei went on, “I don’t train for sport, this is a school of combat. Since I don’t compete, if Royce Gracie was attacking me, it would mean he intended on doing my family harm and I would defend myself. Since Royce Gracie seems like a nice person who doesn’t assault people, this seems like an unlike scenario.”

I am sure that this person was not totally satisfied with the answer. What the person was looking for was akin to the age-old mental rat-hole that we see time and time again, “which martial art is the best.” Let me be up front, there is no such thing. If there was, everybody would learn that one, and it would cease to be effective. On to the question at hand:

There is nothing wrong with sport-oriented martial arts schools. I don’t denigrate other systems or teachers. Sport schools simply have a different focus. As a practitioner of combat-oriented jujutsu, I would undoubtedly get wasted stepping into a ring with a seasoned MMA competitor. I have no idea even what the rules our. My training, which involves killing and crippling techniques, would not carry over legally into the ring. I would be unprepared.

Does this mean that my art sucks? For MMA competition, yes. However, I personally have used my jujutsu to stave off a couple of assaults. My teacher, and fellow students have used this exact training to survive knife and gun assaults, muggings, attempted rapes, and other violent encounters. Our training works, and I have confidence in it.

Does this mean that an MMA competitor would do crappy in a self defense situation. Who knows? It really depends on the person, the situation, and the encounter. Surely MMA practitioners have combative skills and a high fitness level that may be helpful in a combat situation. Some tendencies of MMA fighters (such as the focus on a single adversary, going to the ground, and a lack of weapons training) might be shortcomings in certain situations unless there has been some cross training.

One thing I have learned over the years is that combat effectiveness is less about the art and more about the artist. I’d like to think that our training has been tweaked by real world survival situations enough that it provides a significant advantage in self-defense. I can tell you that there is no training like ours in Maine. But, if you come here expecting to learn how to grapple for points, you’ll be disappointed.